The Magical Freelancer's Guild

@magicfreelance.bsky.social

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The Magical Freelancer's Guild, a queer 1890s-inspired fantasy webcomic by @BirdeeBlake.bsky.social Find all the links to Read and Support here: https://linktr.ee/BirdeeBlake Occasionally 🔞

A cropped digital comic page. Monty Birch, a man with long wavy hair in a ponytail, wearing a brown suit over a green vest, and Ayla Birch, a little girl wearing a green and white striped sweater and dress, are sitting on the edge of a hotel bed. Monty is holding a pair of scissors, gesturing as if to say "ta da! All done!" At the messy haircut he's just given his daughter. On the bed behind them is an open suitcase.
A croppee digital comic page. Three panels are visible. In the first, a young girl looks up with angry tears in her eyes, reaching up to feel the ends of her freshly cut hair. In the second panel, Monty, a young man with medium brown skin, long dark hair in a ponytail and a pointy nose looks sideways sheepishly at the girl. He's holding a pair of scissors. He's wearing a brown sack suit over a green vest. In the third panel, Monty has moved over to close the lid of a blue suitcase, while the little girl turns to look at him. They're in what looks like a hotel room, with pink and blue furnishings.
Cropped digital drawing. Caspian, a man with medium bronze skin, red hair up in a messy topknot, and orange eyes. In this image he has a bit more to his usual sideburns, as well as stubble across the rest of his jaw. He's scowling offscreen, and the hair and burn scars on his chest are just barely visible.
A rough red digital sketch of a man with long wavy hair in a ponytail grabbing on to the arm of a tall woman wearing an eyepatch. The man is bandaged up with his arm in a sling and is angrily saying something up at the woman.
Digital art. Two characters from The Magical Freelancer's Guild webcomic, except it's the 1990s instead. On the left is a tall, scrawny young man with pale skin, blond hair and thick eyebrows. He's wearing an oversized red sweater over a collared shirt and jeans with the hems rolled up. Also orange converse shoes? On the right is a slightly older looking man with short brown hair in sort of a curtain bangs style? He's wearing a white tank top tucked in to ripped jeans, and has a green plaid shirt tied around his waist. There are tan lines on his arms and around his neck.
A cropped digital comic panel from The Magical Freelancer's Guild webcomic. Featuring Lana Fitzgerald, a young blonde woman with her hair in a braid, wearing a long vest over a pink blouse. Glowing blue lines of magic go up and down her arms as she spins around, preparing to fight.
A digital drawing of two characters. On the left is a young woman with dark red hair, green eyes and light brown skin. She's wearing a long, dark blue-grey dress, a hat with a blue ribbon, and an oversized, worn-out looking men's coat. She has a serious expression. On the right is a young man with pale skin, blond hair, blue eyes and heavy eyebrows. He's wearing a dark purple suit over a lighter purple vest, with a burgundy puff tie. He's smiling and waving.
A cropped digital comic panel. Zendaya, a dark-skinned woman with an eyepatch, wearing a pink blouse and brown skirt, rests one arm on the back of the ornate couch she's sitting on. In the opposite hand she holds a steaming cup of tea. She's looking over the rim of the cup with a very disappointed expression.
Caspian in the style of Pokopia-- all squishy and goopy with the dopey, beady-eyed face of a Ditto.
Your OC vs Their Reversed Personality meme template, featuring Caspian Argyle from The Magical Freelancer's Guild webcomic. He's a young man with long red hair, medium bronze skin, and orange eyes. On the left, he's wearing his usual red frock coat, clerical vest and black gloves and his hair is up in a topknot. He's wiping blood off of his lip with the back of his hand, and looks like he's just been punched in the mouth. On the right, his hair is in a half-ponytail and he's wearing brown trousers and a sleeveless undershirt. The burn scars on his chest, right hand, and all down his left arm are clearly visible, including his missing fingertips. Despite this, he has a relaxed and confident smile.
A digital illustration made to look like an old sepia-toned photograph. Two men sit at a table, one with long hair up in a messy bun, wearing a robe-like uniform that has become dishevelled to the point of exposing his chest, and one with short hair, a vest, and rolled up shirt sleeves. The short-haired man is fidgeting with his empty tea cup and staring adoringly at the other, who is listlessly frowning down at the pile of books and study materials on the table in front of him. His teacup remains entirely untouched.
A digital illustration of Monty and Zendaya, two characters from the webcomic The Magical Freelancer's Guild. Zendaya is a dark-skinned woman with curly hair and an eyepatch. She's sitting and drinking tea, reading a magazine on her lap. Monty is a young man with medium-brown skin and long dark hair in a ponytail, wearing a vest. He asks "So, you're just never gonna tell me what I did?" Zendaya responds, "Nope."
A rough red digital sketch of three characters-- Monty Birch, leaning on his shorter adopted father Korneli, who is holding Ayla, Monty's 4-year old daughter. Korneli asks "You made this?" And Monty proudly responds, "I made this".
A comic panel WIP, with flat colours. Lana, a young white woman with blonde hair in a braid, wearing a long purple vest and a pink blouse. She's mid-curtsy and her face from the lips up is cut off by the panel border.
A digital drawing of very early designs of several characters from The Magical Freelancer's Guild webcomic.
Lana, a young blonde woman with her hair in a braid, gestures dramatically as she speaks. She's wearing a purple vest, pink blouse, and light pink tie. In one hand, she holds a little red box while cradling a book in her arm. Behind her, the panel is split into several sections, featuring several books, more red boxes, a train, and some recreations of queer Victorian photos. There's also a bunch of green geraniums and purple violets scattered around. Every is drawn in a pink-tinted sepia, with Lana and the flowers standing out just a bit more.
A digital illustration featuring two versions of the same character-- Caspian Argyle from The Magical Freelancer's Guild webcomic. He's a tall young man with red hair, light brown skin and orange eyes. On the left, his hair is chopped messily to just past his chin. He's wearing what looks like hospital pajamas, and his right hand and entire left arm are covered in bandages. He's gripping his left arm and grimacing, his head bowed. On the right, facing away from the viewer somewhat, he's wearing a red frock coat, black pants, black gloves, and a vest with a clerical collar. His hair is longer but tied back in a topknot. He's holding one hand up, mid-gesture, as a stream of blood appears to come from up his sleeve and float across the canvas. The background is stormy and gloomy, save for a few bright rays of dappled sunlight on the right side.
A digital illustration of a man with short wavy blond hair and a scruffy beard, wearing a brocade vest over a shirt with the sleeves rolled up and holding a glass of something. Standing back to back with him is an older version of himself, facing away from the camera. That version wears a top hat and frock coat, has a full beard, and holds a pocket watch in one hand and a walking stick in the other. The lighting is orange and blue, like a fireplace on a dark night, but there are hints of fog and dark clouds in the background.
A digital illustration WIP of a man with short wavy blond hair and a scruffy beard, wearing a vest over a shirt with the sleeves rolled up and holding a glass of something. Standing back to back with him is an older version of himself, facing away from the camera. That version wears a top hat and frock coat, has a full beard, and holds a pocket watch. The lighting is orange and blue, like a fireplace on a dark night.
A digital illustration WIP of a man with short wavy blond hair and a scruffy beard, wearing a vest over a shirt with the sleeves rolled up and holding a glass of something. Standing back to back with him is an older version of himself in a nearly identical pose, facing away from the camera. That version wears a top hat and frock coat, has a full beard, and holds a pocket watch. The lighting is orange and blue, like a fireplace on a dark night.
A rough red digital sketch of a man with long hair in a ponytail, wearing a frock coat over a clerical vest.
A digital comic panel. Lana, a young blonde woman with her hair in braid, wearing a pink blouse and purple vest, sets a book on a shelf. She looks kind of sad about it 😔.
A digital comic panel WIP. A woman wearing an 1880s-90s dress with a bustle skirt and a hat with a large bowtie on it stands beside a desk, holding a book open in one hand and pointing at another one on the desk. She looks confused and annoyed by something.
A digital illustration of two versions of a man with light brown hair and pale blue eyes. On the left is his younger self, wearing an 1800s police uniform and holding a smoking revolver. His hair is dishevelled, he has injuries on his hands and face, and he looks horrified. His breath is visible, and there are snow drifts creeping in on his side of the image, as well as some falling snow lit by a beam of light. On the right is an older version of him, now dressed in a dapper vest, frock coat, tophat, and puff tie. His hair is greying a bit. He's drawing a cane sword and smiling smugly.
Digital illustration. A young blonde woman with her hair in a braid, wearing a lacy chemise and drawers. She's lying on a bed, with her legs held up in the air. She's holding a book close to her face and reading it with her mouth agape while twirling the end of her braid with her other hand.
Greyscale digital drawings of four chibi-fied character portraits. Clockwise from the top left: Monty (dark wavy hair in a ponytail), Zendaya (dark-skinned woman with an eyepatch), Lana (blonde woman with her hair in a braid) and Luca (pale young person with chin-length brown hair and tiny glasses).
A digital illustration of a serious-looking man wearing a vest over an off-white shirt with the sleeves rolled up. He's holding a young boy off the ground by the collar. The man looks grouchy, his free hand on his hip. The boy sticks out his tongue as several playing cards fall out of his oversized sleeves.
A digital illustration of a boy with tanned skin and red hair in a half ponytail. He's wearing a long grey coat with a clerical collar. It's tied at the waist with a belt and looks just slightly too big for him. His boots and breeches are scuffed and tattered. He's walking through a library, along a shelf of large, old books, with his hands behind his back.
Lana, a young blonde woman with her hair in a braid, gestures dramatically as if she's giving a stage performance or something. In one hand, she holds a little red box while cradling a book in her arm. Behind her is a slightly off colour lesbian flag. The colours of Lana's vest and blouse are adjusted to match the flag more closely.
A cropped digital comic panel of a hand holding up a little red tin with golden trim and a diamond-themed design on the lid.
I'm so sorry but I gotta come back like, tomorrow and add the alt text or maybe someone cool could do it while I'm asleep but I really gotta run sorry ahhhhh
A digital comic panel of a young blonde woman with her hair in a braid, wearing a blouse with a longline vest type dress thing idk. It's Lana and she's causing some fancy chaos
A digital comic page: Chapter 5, page 1 of The Magical Freelancer's Guild. Monty, a young man with his dark hair tied back in a ponytail, jolts awake on a fancy red Victorian couch. His shirt and coat are over top of him like blankets. He's in an unfamiliar room, with some shelves full of bottles, a potbelly stove and various knickknacks on little wooden tables. He looks around groggily, towards the nearby door. The light from the other room spills through along with the sounds of someone talking, too faint to make out clearly.
A digital comic panel showing a young blonde woman with her hair in a braid that falls over her shoulder. She's peeking through a bookshelf, with another in the background behind her, and lit by the sliver of lantern light that makes it through the shelves.
A monochromatic digital drawing of a dark-skinned woman with an eyepatch, wearing a blouse with puffed sleeves and a standing collar, a long skirt, and a wide belt. She's sitting with a fancy-looking wooden box on her lap, one hand resting on it, with the other propping up her chin. She's smiling coyly at the viewer.
A digital comic cover. Monty, a young man with his hair in a half-ponytail is sitting on the stone steps outside a door, cradling an infant in his arms. The baby is wrapped up in a pink blanket and Monty is gently booping her on the nose. The whole scene is lit by a warm, dappled light.
Two trapazoid-shaped digital comic panels. One contains an old-fashioned lantern with a lit candle inside it, surrounded by fluttering, faintly glowing moths. The moths fly over the panel gutters all fancy-like.
Two digital comic panels, repeated twice, to compare the old art to the new art. A dark-skinned woman with an eyepatch and a pink blouse and a shorter, pale woman with red hair both gesture at each other in frustration. The old art on top has blank speech bubbles and is higher contrast and more saturated. The lower panels, the newer art, have slightly different poses for each character and if you ask me the art and colouring is just better >o>.
A monochromatic digital comic, answering a reader question: "Why is Monty Like That(tm)?" Panel 1: A young Monty, probably around 10-12 years old, is roughly handed a shotgun by someone out of frame. Panel 2: The person handing him the gun is revealed to be a random man with a smoking pipe and a neckerchief. He and Monty appear to be on the edge of a cliff overlooking a foggy forest. The man points at the cliff wall in front of them. Panel 3: Monty aims the shotgun, but I'm pretty sure he's not doing it right. Panel 4: The recoil sends the scrawny preteen Monty spinning backwards off the cliff, while peppering the cliff face with some glittery dust. Panel 5: Presumably later, Monty is bandaged up with his arm in a sling, while a clown (Clown dad) and another random circus lady look on in shock and/or mild concern. "Honestly? Too many reasons to list here."
A monochromatic digital comic, answering a reader question: What are your inspirations for the story? Below that is a collage of character drawings-- Violet Evergarden, Edward Elric and Julia Ogden and William Murdoch from Murdoch Mysteries. "Mainly these three! Though without the military and copaganda elements. I wanted to tell a smaller, more local story, and also ACAB" Below that, a reader asks: "And Luca, specifically?" Luca was a steampunk roleplaying character I made back in 2010. I just reused the design to save some time, that's all :') Beside this answer is some old art of Luca, from 2010 and 2011. The design is still pretty much the same.
Oliver Graham, a middle-aged man with very pale blue eyes, dressed in a fancy coat and vest with a blue puff tie. He's sitting with a cup of tea on a big leather armchair, in front of an out of focus bookshelf. He is lit from one direction by a bright, pale light and from the other by a softer orange glow.
A monochromatic digital comic, answering a reader question: "Is Magic... sentient or something?" Panel 1: Monty sits in a chair, holding a steaming cup of coffee. "I thought you'd never ask! Allow me to explain--" Panel 2: Monty is interrupted by Luca, who pops out of the panel border. "What an absurd question!" Panel 3: Luca crawls out of the panel. "Wait! Let me tell you about my theories!" Behind them, Monty has taken his coffee and gone elsewhere.
Two digital comic panels. On the left, a blonde woman with her hair in a braid looks up with puppy dog eyes. On the right, a dark-skinned woman with an eyepatch looks down, flustered and blushing.
A digital WIP of Monty, a young man with long wavy hair in a ponytail, wearing a vibrant blue, magenta, and yellow-green waistcoat with a floral pattern, a blue tie, and red and blue striped pants. He looks very tired but is nonetheless grinning mischievously.
A digital WIP of Monty, a young man with long wavy hair in a ponytail, wearing a deep green cutaway coat, striped trousers, and a red and blue floral patterned vest. He's also wearing a straw boater hat and has a very suspicious grin.
A digital comic answering some reader questions! At the top: How old is Ayla? Is she using ASL to communicate? Monty, Ayla’s father, ponders intensely for two panels before the rest of the cast turns the joke around on him and makes fun of him for forgetting his own daughter's birthday. Ayla is 4, and yes, she does use ASL. Second question: What are the characters' drink preferences? The panel shows a drink tray held by an unseen waitress. Lana: Switchel Amabel: Raspberry Shrub Ayla: Spiced Hot Chocolate Zendaya: Bachelors Rose Caspian: Spruce Beer Luca: Absinthe Monty: Coffee
A digital comic panel. Monty Birch, a young man with long wavy hair in a ponytail tied with a green ribbon, is fidgeting with the knot of a sling around his neck. He's shirtless, and his shoulders and neck are covered in bruises. He has a more serious expression than he normally does.
Three comic panels without dialogue. In the first panel: Monty, a sleepy, bruised man with long hair in a ponytail, perks up. Second panel: Zendaya, a dark-skinned woman with an eyepatch, frowns at Monty. Third panel: whatever Zendaya has said deflates Monty's mood somewhat, and he temporarily is drawn in a more stylized manner. All 3 panels are lit with both an orange and blue lights, from various angles.
A sepia-toned comic page with a man standing in a foggy, rainy void. He's soaking wet and holding a bundle of blankets in his arms.
"Can we get some more lore about the region?" Asks a reader. Below the question is an aerial shot of a neighbourhood composed mostly of row housing, giant trees, and several ruined buildings. The guild hall is in the center of the shot. Below is the text: Salvatore was originally a model village built for a railway company. Through a combination of incompetence and stubborn anti-union malice, the company abruptly went bankrupt and abandoned the town before the last bricks were laid. Deciding to make the most of things, the workers and their families stayed in the unfinished village and made it their home. Decades later, Salvatore is considered by some to be a part of Hawkesborough proper, while on paper it is a separate, unorganized area with its own bylaws and unique way of doing things. With the borders of Hawkesborough creeping closer, the city council has proposed officially incorporating Salvatore and taking over its municipal services. Q: "What proportion of the world can use Magic?" A: "Exact numbers are unknown, but approximately 25% of the population can use Magic, though only about 5% actively do." Bertocchi's First Theory of Magic* * Please note that this book has yet to be published, or even written, in a way that can be understood by other human beings.
WIP of a comic panel of a man with long hair in a ponytail, sleepily asking "where are my clothes?". His bare shoulders are covered in bruises and the top of an arm sling is visible.